Hold the smaller ball in front of you at shoulder height like you did initially and place the larger ball on top. What do you think will happen when you release both balls at the same time? Perform the test a few times. Can you explain your observations? Note that although before the larger bottom ball was probably heavier than the smaller top one, this time the top ball is heavier.
Extra: If you have more balls available, try other combinations such as a ping-pong ball on a basketball or a tennis ball. If you can, try stacking three balls, such as a ping-pong ball on top of a tennis ball that is resting on a basketball, and release all at the same time.
Be sure you have lots of free space for the balls to fly! Extra : If you would like a detailed view of what happens, you can use a camera to film the experiment. Later, you can study the moving balls on a screen in slow motion. Note that you can calculate the speed in meters per second at which a ball travels in the video. To do so, multiply the number of frames per second by the distance in meters the ball traveled between two frames.
Place a meter stick in your frame or use your height as a calibration of distance in your video. Build a Cooler. Holes That Do Not Leak! Lift a Large Load Using Liquids. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Support science journalism. Knowledge awaits. See Subscription Options Already a subscriber? Create Account See Subscription Options. Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription. Subscribe Now You may cancel at any time. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.
Your email address will not be published. What do you notice? Things to think about Which ball do you think will be the hardest to bounce in the direction you want it to bounce?
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Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. The coefficient of friction varies by material and surface and is essentially a number that indicates how grippy a surface or material is. In real life non-ideal scenarios, bouncing balls lose energy and eventually come to a stop. This is all due to the forces we ignored in the first example. When a ball hits a wall or surface, it makes a noise, which is a loss of energy from the ball's bounce.
It also will generate some amount of heat, another loss of energy. Friction from the wall will cause energy loss as well as air resistance while the ball travels. In essence, the ball will never have as much potential or kinetic energy as it had from right after it was thrown or right before it strikes a surface, depending on the scenario.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. By Trevor English. Let's break down the physics of bouncing balls. Follow Us on. Sponsored Stories.
Maia Mulko. The random motion of jiggling molecules is a measure of thermal energy. The putty gets warmer, but it doesn't bounce. Putty is inelastic --it doesn't return to its original shape. Now suppose you drop a rubber ball. Rubber is made from long-chain polymer molecules. When you hold the ball in your hand, these long molecules are tangled together like a ball of molecular spaghetti.
During a collision, these molecules stretch--but only for a moment. Atomic motions within the rubber molecules then return them toward their original, tangled shape. Much of the energy of the ball's downward motion becomes upward motion as the ball returns to its original shape and bounces into the air.
The energy in the ball that isn't converted into motion becomes warmth. You can verify this the next time you play a game of racquetball.
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